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Some truths about ADHD
Social media is now awash with memes, posts, videos and more about ADHD. In one sense this is great, as it brings attention to something that until fairly recently has been widely misunderstood. For many people, perhaps especially those in midlife or older, ADHD was associated with 'naughty boys' in school, a misleading stereotype that still exists. However, the increased attention (pardon the pun!) also comes with it further myths and misunderstandings.
'Everyone has ADHD these days' is something I hear a lot. However, research does not support this assertion. A global meta-analysis of 96,907 participants from 53 studies reported population prevalence estimates of 7.6% of children aged 3–12 years old and 5.6% (95% CI: 4.8–7.0%) of adolescents aged 13–18 years old. In adults, prevalence estimates are lower and more variable; a recent global meta-analysis of 107,282 participants from 20 studies found that between 2.58% and 6.76% of adults have ADHD (references available on request). However, the diagnostic prevalence in the UK is far lower, even though there has been some increase in recent years as, slowly, diagnostic services have been developed.
I must admit, I am surprised at how high the global prevalence rates are. 5 out of 100 adults is pretty substantial. I am not going into the reasons why this is (and I am not sure that anyone fully knows!). This is exactly why, as a society, we should be thinking seriously about how we create environments, make adaptations and have more understanding towards someone with ADHD, not dismiss or invalidate them with lazy comments about how 'everyone's got something these days'.
That said, the increased awareness does seem to be leading an awful lot of people to identify with ADHD traits, and it is important we do not attribute every instance of being forgetful, scatty, talkative, high in energy or disorganised to ADHD. (this happened with autism, where people began, erroneously, to say 'we are all a bit autistic'). Sometimes people are simply just messy, poor with timekeeping, extroverted and talkative.
A high quality ADHD assessment is thorough, seeks to rule out other explanations, involves information from a number of sources and gathers evidence from childhood and adulthood. To receive an ADHD diagnosis there must be evidence of several traits, in multiple environments, have a significant impact on someone's life, and not be explained by other things e.g. trauma or mental health. It is a condition with many difficult aspects to it (as well as some wonderful qualities), and there are different sub-types, and this is why it is so important to access an assessment from someone who takes their time, does not jump to conclusions and has experience.
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